Pros and Cons of
Team Teaching
Presenters
Shawn Jensen
ELL Instructor
shawn.jensen@nwtc.edu
Karla Sampselle
MA Instructor
karla.sampselle@nwtc.edu
RISE / Career Launch
• Combing basic education/soft skills with a trade
• Involves
– Team teaching
– Contextualized curriculum
– Creating pathways to facilitate and target high risk
students.
Goals of RISE
• Expand Wisconsin’s skilled work force and help
low income workers secure good jobs and
careers by increasing the number of adults who
earn postsecondary credentials in high demand
occupations.
Team Teaching
Models of Team Teaching
• Classic
• Cooperative
• Integrated
• Parallel
• Distinctive
• Monitoring teacher
The course content will
primarily drive the model
of teaching you will use.
Classic Team Teaching
• Content instructor presents the new information
• Co-instructor assists
Welding instructor introduces new welding symbols
used in Blueprint Reading. The co-instructor writes
the information up on the board and monitors the
students to make sure they are following along.
Classic Team Teaching
Pros
Cons
• Allows the content instructor
to deliver and focus on
instruction without
interruption
• Does not make full use of
both instructors
• Can establish a lower level of
respect for the assisting
instructor
Cooperative Teaching
• Instructors teach new materials at the same time
• Instructors model the learning plan by having a
prepared or spontaneous discussion about the
topic in front of the students
• Used primarily for group work
Both instructors engage in conversation about the
importance of being to work on time. Each
instructor contributes their own personal
experiences to the discussion.
Cooperative Teaching
Pros
• Models a respectful working
relationship between adults
• Allows both instructors to
provide their prospective on
the topic
• Promotes respect for both
instructors
Cons
• Requires a level of comfort
between instructors that
cannot be faked
• Requires coordination and
planning that may be timeconsuming
Integrated Team Teaching
• One instructor teaches the content
• Co-instructor provides follow up activities
Welding instructor teaches about welding safety. The BE/ELL instructor works with
the students to create a poster to present to the class. Students are able to reinforce
their welding safety instruction while improving their speaking skills at the same time.
Integrated Team Teaching
Pros
Cons
• Each instructor showcases
their specialty
• Students improve remedial
skills and practice new skills
simultaneously
• Instructors try new activities
they may not have tried
before
• Requires coordination
between instructors that may
be time consuming
Parallel Instruction
• The class is divided into two groups and each
instructor teaches the same content to each
group of students.
The class is given a scenario concerning work ethics: “Your supervisor requests
that you dispose of a toxic substance after work in a landfill. He explains that the
company does not have a permit to dispose of this substance.” One group
focuses on what will happen if they follow the supervisor’s request and the other
group on what will happen if they do not follow the request. The groups then
come together to discuss the ethical responsibilities and consequences of each
option.
Parallel Instruction
Pros
• Provides for smaller groups
and more individual attention
• Allows for greater control of
behavioral problems or
problems between students
Cons
• Requires collaborative
planning
• Requires good timing
• Each instructor must be
equally strong in the lesson
being taught
Distinctive Class Split
• Divide the class up by levels of learning and
provide instruction as needed
• Divide class up and match stronger students up
with students that need more assistance
Divide the students into strong learners and learners who need more
assistance. One instructor works with the strong learners to teach
more advanced skills while the other instructor reviews and reinforces
concepts to students who need more assistance.
Distinctive Class Split
Pros
• Provides differentiation
opportunities
• Provides remediation or
enrichment for students who
need it
• Smaller groups provide more
individual attention
Cons
• May reduce a student’s
exposure to ABE/ELL
curriculum
• May “label” students by
continually grouping them
together
• Reduces the value of
inclusion by separating
students based on needs.
Monitoring Teacher
• Content expert teaches all course content
• ABE/ELL instructor monitors the students’
understanding and comprehension of material
and key vocabulary.
Monitoring Teacher
Pros
Cons
• Minimal coordination
required when planning
• Allows for delivery of quality
instruction without
interruptions
• May conceal weaknesses if
co-instructor is not as strong
on the particular subject
being taught
• Doesn’t fully utilize each
instructor’s specialty
• Can create
behavior/authority problems
for the observing instructor
if done regularly
• Can create animosity between
instructors if teaching model
used is not a mutual decision
Contextualized Curriculum
• Course content is not “watered down”
• Preparation time is essential
• Teaching the course more than once helps to
contextualize the curriculum
Example of
Contextualized Curriculum
• Human Body
– Content instructor assigns paper on a specific
disease
• Writing Skills (ELL)
– ELL instructor supports activity by providing
writing instruction including sentence format,
grammar, and developing a 5 part essay
Example of
Contextualized Curriculum
• Human Body
• Business Office Administration
– The readability of the textbooks continually increases,
topping out at a 12th grade reading level
– Focus is placed in the initial course on reading and how
to read a textbook
• Content Reading Skills (ELL)
– NOVOS
ELL Reading Guide (NOVOS)
Name:
Chapter:
Write the new vocabulary words in the beginning of the chapter
Write the objectives (things you want to learn) in this chapter
Highlight the new vocabulary words in the chapter in yellow
Read and highlight the objectives in the chapter in pink
Pick a chart of table from the book and construct it in your own
words. Be creative!
Copyright 2010 Jensen NWTC
Example of
Contextualized Curriculum
• Certified Nursing Assistant
• ELL instruction is at the beginning of the class
*Proactive*
– Go over Chapter worksheets
– Students read out loud and work on comprehension and
fluency
– New vocabulary cards are made
– Test taking and time management skills are introduced
Example of
Contextualized Curriculum
• Medical Terminology
• Content instructor assigns list of terms for
pronunciation
• ELL instructor works with student to identify and
practice specific vowel and consonant sounds
within the terms
zygote (zi gōt )
candidiasis (kan dĭ - di ə - sis )
Challenges of
RISE/Team Teaching
•
•
•
•
•
•
Expense
Prep Time
Finding where each instructor “fits”
Contextualizing the curriculum
Rapport between co-teachers
Flexibility
Challenges of
RISE/Team Teaching
•
•
•
•
Barriers for high risk students
No GED, unable to obtain employment
Scheduling
Administration buy in
Success of the Program
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increase in confidence levels in the students
Increase in reading skills
Portions of the 509 HSED are completed
Life long learning skills
Graduation
Jobs
Instant referral process
MAs
at the
Heart Walk
Welder’s Graduation
MA/HCSR Graduation
Golden Rules
of Team Teaching
• Thou shall plan everything
with they neighbor.
• Thou shall attend thy
neighbor’s lecture.
• Thou shall refer to they
neighbor’s ideas.
• Thou shall model debate
with thy neighbor.
• Thou shall have something to
say even thou art not in
charge.
• Thou shall apply common
grading standards.
• Thou shall attend all staff
meetings.
• Thou shall ask open
questions.
• Thou shall let students speak.
• Thou shall be willing to be
surprised.
Leavitt, Melissa C. (2006). Team teaching: benefits and challenges. Speaking of
teaching, 16 (1). Retrieved from
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/Newsletter/teamteaching.pdf